Government to review application fee for first-time ID applicants - Mbadi

Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has announced his commitment to ensuring the reviewing of the service fees charged to first-time applicants of national identity cards.

Speaking before Senators on Wednesday, Mbadi expressed strong support for the idea that Kenyans seeking to obtain their first ID should not face additional charges.

Currently, new ID applicants are required to pay Sh300.

CS Mbadi emphasised that it is unreasonable for the government to charge citizens an extra fee to register as Kenyans.

"I am one of the people who are in this school of thought that you do not have to pay to be registered as a Kenyan," he stated.

The CS promised to engage with relevant authorities to work toward eliminating this fee, aiming to ease the financial burden on citizens.

However, he clarified that the fee for replacing lost or damaged ID cards would remain unchanged.

This discussion follows a gazette notice published by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki last November which outlined revised charges for ID cards that came into effect in January 2024.

Under the new regulations, the fee for acquiring a new ID was reduced from Sh1,000 to Sh300 after public outcry over the initial proposal.

"The new intended charges, fees and levies have been adjusted to accommodate views of the public already received following the publication of the revoked gazette notices," Kindiki said then.

The CS said that the government will cushion poor Kenyans who intend to acquire IDs for the first time.

"On the particular issue of acquisition of national identity cards by previously not registered citizens, the government shall defray the costs of the revised charges, fees and levies through a waiver for indigent Kenyans who demonstrate inability to pay," Kindiki noted.

"The intended revised charges, fees, and levies are informed by the need for Kenya's self-reliance in financing the national budget, to wean the country from unsustainable debt that poses grave threats to our sovereignty and the dignity of future generations," he said then.